North Carolina Couple Charged With Murder, Child Abuse In The Death Of 18-Month-Old Daughter

A Fayetteville, North Carolina, couple was arrested and charged with murder and felony child abuse in the death of their 18-month-old daughter.

According to reports, police had been searching for 20-year-old Vanessa Sanchez and her fiancé, 21-year-old Andrew Tomczak, since the couple moved to Colorado Springs this past spring. Sanchez and Tomczak called 911 on Jan. 29 to report that their daughter, Violet, was unresponsive in a bedroom at their apartment.

Violet subsequently died due to head injuries, and an autopsy conducted on May 19 concluded that she suffered multiple blunt force blows to her head, contusions on her neck, arms, legs and trunk, as well as “contusions and abrasions on her external genitalia.”

Following the autopsy, police issued arrest warrants for both Tomczak and Sanchez, and charged them with felony child abuse and murder. By that point the couple had moved to Colorado, but a neighbor reportedly recognized their pictures online and notified police.

Tomczak, who was on probation for an assault by strangulation charge at the time of his arrest, was charged with serious bodily injury and felony probation violation, in addition to the first-degree murder and felony child abuse charges. He is currently being held without bail.